Enthesophytes on sheep elbow joints are commonly reported in archaeological material. Although these lesions are often described as 'penning elbow', little is known of their aetiology. In this study, a new method for recording these lesions is presented, and the effect of age, sex and body size is explored to understand their potential for informing upon past human-animal interactions.
1133 distal humerii and proximal radii from 16 archaeological sites.
The presence and severity of enthesophytes were recorded and findings compared with modern data from a group of 17 complete Soay sheep skeletons.
Significant, positive correlations between age and body size and the presence of enthesophytes were demonstrated. Environmental factors and trauma may also play a role in their formation.
The aetiology of enthesophytes on sheep elbows is complex and varied, affected by age, body size and environment.
This is the first study of enthesophytes on sheep elbows to combine archaeological data with modern animals of known age and sex. Blanket explanations of husbandry methods for the cause of these lesions are dispelled, and use of the term 'penning elbow' is redundant.
The sample of modern specimens is relatively small and would benefit from the inclusion of older individuals and those raised in different environments.
The method developed here can be adopted in future studies. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/eidd-2801.html Interpretations should take age, size and environmental factors into consideration, and only when these variables are established can the role of husbandry be evaluated.
The method developed here can be adopted in future studies. Interpretations should take age, size and environmental factors into consideration, and only when these variables are established can the role of husbandry be evaluated.This study tests the argument that industrialisation was accompanied by a dramatic worsening of urban health in England.
Family reconstitutions derived from baptism, marriage and burial records for the period before 1837, and from civil registration of deaths and census populations between 1837 and 1900.
Age-specific mortality rates are used as indicators of population health.
The available evidence indicates a decline in urban mortality in the period c.1750-1820, especially amongst infants and (probably) rural-urban migrants. Mortality at ages 1-4 years demonstrated a more complex pattern, falling between 1750 and 1830 before rising abruptly in the mid-nineteenth century.
These patterns are better explained by changes in breastfeeding practices and the prevalence or virulence of particular pathogens than by changes in sanitary conditions or poverty. Mortality patterns amongst young adult migrants were affected by a shift from acute to chronic infectious diseases over the period.
Pathogen evolution, infant care and migration exerted major influences on mortality trends and should be given greater attention in studies of the health impacts of British industrialisation.
Evidence of urban mortality rates is very limited before 1837 and may not be fully representative of industrialising populations. Mortality also provides only a partial picture of the health of urban populations and may be distorted by migration patterns.
There is enormous scope for collaboration between archaeologists and historians to investigate the health of industrial populations, through the triangulation and contextualisation of diverse sources of evidence.
There is enormous scope for collaboration between archaeologists and historians to investigate the health of industrial populations, through the triangulation and contextualisation of diverse sources of evidence.Evaluation of the spatial and temporal composition of floodplain sediments and soils is critical in the creation of soil management strategies for impacted riverine catchments. The objective of this study was to determine the distribution, and to identify the sources, of particulate trace elements and fallout radionuclides in the catchment of the River Avon (SW England), where sedimentary processes had been altered by reservoir construction in the 1950s. The catchment was compartmentalized into its main functional units namely, cultivated land, pasture, woodland, wet moorland, and channel bank. Surface soils were collected in each unit, along with four strategically-placed cores, all of which were analyzed for particle size, fallout radionuclides and elemental concentrations. Sediment particle sizes and sediment accumulation rates were affected by the construction of the reservoir, specifically the distributions of silt and clay. The concentrations of fertilizer constituent Cr and P were highly correlated in the mid-catchment but were unrelated downstream due to elevated concentrations of Cr from geological deposits. Copper, As, Pb and Sn had variable down-core distributions, with pulses in concentrations due to mining inputs. The contributions of the end-member sources of particulate elements in the sedimentary mixtures were evaluated, quantitatively, using a Bayesian Mixing Model and the cultivated land was identified as a significant contributor to the mixtures, independent of space and time. The results contribute to advances in soil quality and conservation measures as components of a catchment management plan for the Avon, an approach maybe applicable to other small catchments in the UK and internationally.Freshwater lakes experience drastic water level fluctuations because of climate change and human activities. However, the influence of such fluctuations on phosphorus cycling in sediments has rarely been investigated. We conducted a geochemical investigation on the phosphorus cycle in a shallow freshwater lake, Dongting Lake; under the influence of human activities and climate change, its water regime undergoes drastic changes. Irrespective of the permanent inundation zone (PIZ) or seasonal inundation zone (SIZ), the phosphorus cycle in sediments was found to be dominated by the reductive dissolution of iron (Fe) (oxyhydr)oxides, degradation of organic matters, and conversion between authigenic phosphorus (Ca-P) and detrital phosphorus in individual seasons. From winter to summer, with increasing water level, the content of Fe-bound phosphorus and organic phosphorus increase due to the deposition of suspended matter, thus increasing total phosphorus in PIZ. Moreover, the rising water level also reduces the dissolved oxygen content and promotes the reductive dissolution of Fe (oxyhydr)oxides.